Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Paco Medina
Colorist: Erick Arciniega
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado; Damian Scott
Designer: Adam Del Re
Editors: Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 28, 2025
Bailey didn't want to live in the "creepy" FEAST Center. His mother reminded him that while they had a comfortable apartment, some of the residents had nothing. One of those is Christina Xu. She longs for the day her father can get a job and her family can rent an apartment.
When Christina takes the keys she found at the FEAST Center to the First Kingdom Bank, Mr Zheng claims they don't open his safety deposit boxes. Then, Inner Demons pursue Christina to recapture Mr Negative’s keys. Can Spider-Boy protect Christina from the masked martial artists? Hellifino! Let's slip on our unstable molecule sneakers, leap into Spider-Boy #19, and find out!
Story
A spider-hero does right by others. When Spider-Boy recognizes one of Mr Negative’s servants, he tries to help the Inner Demon. Like Bailey and Christina, Mr Krepke suffered beneath Madame Monstrosity's hand. Amid the stressful encounter, Christina discovers that, like Bailey, Madame Monstrosity's manipulations have evolved into a superpower. Bailey had good mentors in Spider-Man and Daredevil. So, in Spider-Boy #19, he counsels Christina in wielding her power responsibly.
Sadly, Spider-Man has been an absent mentor recently. So when he finds Bailey and Christina trying to rob First Kingdom Bank, Spider-Man thinks that his ten-year-old sidekick is using his power irresponsibly. Additionally, Bailey has abrogated their agreement by battling A-List villains. Spider-Man doesn't allow Bailey to explain his reasoning. He concludes that Bailey is a child unready to observe society's codes of conduct. Ironically, Peter Parker plays Tony Stark’s role in Spider-Man Homecoming, forcing Bailey into Peter’s predicament.
By supporting Christina’s plans, Spider-Boy #19 draws Bailey into complex moral choices. The ten-year-old must choose between obeying the law and doing right by others. Dan Slott's story is also a meditation on the responsible use of power. While Bailey mentors others and emancipates the oppressed, Mr Negative uses his abilities to strip people of their uniqueness. Peter prefers to shut down the situation rather than consider Bailey’s reasoning. But then, adults sometimes read situations less clearly than children.
Art
As Mr Krupke attacks Spider-Boy and Christina, the strips of flesh obscuring his features show how Madame Monstrosity injured him. The energy arcing between Mr Negative and Madame Monstrosity suggests the unholy union of his mind control with her Frankenstein experiments. The barcodes stamped on their necks are reminders of how Madame Monstrosity regarded others. Even without an olive branch in its beak, the bird that appears behind Christina reminds us of her desire to uplift others.
Erick Arciniega lavishes a loaded palette of bold, attractive colors on Paco Medina’s art. Yet he casts Mr Negative and his Inner Demons in Black And White, reminding us that oppression and vitality are mutually exclusive. The white bubbles that Mr Negative casts threaten to bleach bystanders of their colorful attire. Even before the bubbles surround Mr Zheng’s face, his black, white, and gray appearance suggests how managing a villain’s affairs has affected him. Sadly, as the two blue-and-red heroes reunite, the yellow and orange light filling the bank's windows suggests the sun is setting on their relationship in Spider-Boy #19.
While characters speak uppercase black letters in dialogue balloons, Mr Negative and his followers utter white words in black balloons. Words grow bold for intonation, shrink for lowered voices, swell for volume, and change colors for emphasis. Colored borders enhance dialogue, and blue boxes reveal Bailey's thoughts. Joe Caramagna’s sound effects help us hear how the Parker family reacts to tyranny in Dan Slott's penultimate issue of Bailey Briggs' battles. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Martin Li founded the FEAST Center to help the unhoused. Later, he exploited the residents. When Bailey pulls a bank raid, Spider-Man must decide if the ten-year-old is becoming more like him or Mr Negative in Spider-Boy #19.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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